BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1: How to publish BizTalk operational data on Power BI – Step-by-step configuration (Part 2)

Following the sequence of my last post: BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1: How to publish BizTalk operational data on Power BI – Step-by-step configuration (Part 1), here we will see how we can enable BizTalk operational data feed and how we can use the BizTalk Server Operational Data Power BI template provided by Microsoft to easily publish the report to Power BI.

Step-by-step Configuration to Enable BizTalk Server 2016 Operational Data Feed

Second step: Enable BizTalk operational data feed

To enable BizTalk Server 2016 operational data feed, you should:

• Run Windows PowerShell as Administrator by:
  • Press the Windows key to open the Start menu and type PowerShell.
  • Right-click on the Windows PowerShell option and select Run as administrator.

• Browse to the BizTalk Server 2016 installation folder, normally:
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016.
• And run the following command. Be sure to update your website, domain\user, password, and domain\group with your values:
  • Service: The service to be configured: Management or OperationalData.
  • WebSiteName: The existing website where the service will be configured. The default value is Default Web Site.
  • ApplicationPool: The Application Pool to be used by the service. If it exists, it will not be created. The default value is DefaultAppPool.
  • ApplicationPoolUser: Configures the application pool to run as this user identity. Must have BizTalk Server Operator or higher privileges.
  • ApplicationPoolUserPassword: Password for the ApplicationPoolUser.
  • AuthorizationAccount: List of authorized Groups or Users to use this service.

FeaturePack.ConfigureServices.ps1 -Service operationaldata -WebSiteName '<Default Web Site>' -ApplicationPool <operationalDataServiceAppPool> -ApplicationPoolUser <domain>\<user> -ApplicationPoolUserPassword <password> -AuthorizationRoles '<domain>\<group>, <domain>\<user>'

If everything goes well, after you run the script, if you browse the new IIS Application by:

• Open your web browser.
• Go to http://localhost/BizTalkOperationalDataService.

You will see a JSON file, BizTalkOperationDataService.json, being downloaded.

Third step: Use the BizTalk Server Operational Data Power BI template to publish the report to Power BI

To access the Power BI Template file and use the provided visualization from Microsoft, use the following steps:

• Browse to the OperationalDataService folder under the BizTalk Server 2016 installation folder, normally:
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016\OperationalDataService

• And double click to open the BizTalkOperationalData.pbit file.
• When prompted from Power BI Desktop, paste the http://<BizTalkServer>/BizTalkOperationalDataService URL that you created for your OData feed.
  • Normally: http://localhost/BizTalkOperationalDataService.

• And then click Load to populate the fields in your Power BI report.

The Template file automatically generates the information and tables available from the OData feed.

The operational data is exposed through the computer and can be accessed and executed by other applications, subject to permissions.

Publishing your reports to the Power BI service is fast and easy. Once the data has been load you need to:

• Save the file by selecting the menu File and clicking Save.
• And then select the Publish button on the Home tab in Power BI Desktop, and the process begins.

• The first step, of course, is to provide your Power BI account

• After you authenticate on Power BI, a list of destinations that you have access to will be presented so you can select the destination where you want to publish the BizTalk Operational Data report.
  • Select your destination, in my case, My workspace.
  • and then click Select.

• Then the publishing process will start.

• Once the upload is complete, a dialog box tells you the publishing process succeeded, and a link is provided in that dialog to take you directly to your report in the Power BI service, in a web browser.

• If you have access to PowerBI.com, you will see the BizTalk Operational Data (BizTalk Operational Data report) available.

And if you click on it, you will be able to see the data that was loaded and published by the Power BI desktop.

But the most important question is: Are these data being updated?

And the answer is: No. For that, you will need additional steps.

Related Links

• BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1: How to publish BizTalk operational data on Power BI – Step-by-step configuration (Part 1)
• BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1: How to publish BizTalk operational data on Power BI – Step-by-step configuration (Part 3)

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Author: Sandro Pereira

Sandro Pereira lives in Portugal and works as a consultant at DevScope. In the past years, he has been working on implementing Integration scenarios both on-premises and cloud for various clients, each with different scenarios from a technical point of view, size, and criticality, using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft BizTalk Server and different technologies like AS2, EDI, RosettaNet, SAP, TIBCO etc. He is a regular blogger, international speaker, and technical reviewer of several BizTalk books all focused on Integration. He is also the author of the book “BizTalk Mapping Patterns & Best Practices”. He has been awarded MVP since 2011 for his contributions to the integration community. View all posts by Sandro Pereira